From MSU Today on Impact Radio: Yong Zhao is a university distinguished professor of education at MSU. His new book is Catching Up or Leading the Way: American Education in the Age of Globalization.

“America’s increasing reliance on standardized testing as a yardstick for educational success is a flawed policy that threatens to undermine our nation’s strengths of creativity and innovation,” says Zhao. “Right now we seem to be stuck with the idea of standards as the panacea to fix all of America’s education problems.

“I don’t deny that the U.S. education system has problems, but I don’t feel the problems can be solved by standards and high-stakes testing. Rather, standards and high-stakes testing run the risk of ruining the advantages and great tradition of the system.”

Zhao believes the federal government should stop endorsing standardized testing and instead reward schools for offering a diverse set of opportunities – from art to auto shop. He says accountability should be “input-based” rather than “output-based,” with schools being graded on whether they provide safe and clean facilities and a learning environment that provides global learning opportunities.

Hosted by Russ White.

Hear the Conversation 19:37 – 11.2 mb mp3